These paleo buffalo chicken tenders are a game changer! Back in my picky eating days, chicken tenders and french fries were jam …even better if the restaurant had buffalo chicken tenders. Didn’t matter what restaurant I was at, I was most likely ordering chicken tenders and french fries. Occasionally I’d be daring and order a burger, but even that was unlikely.
Anyway, here’s my thing with buffalo chicken tenders: there needs to be the buffalo chicken flavor throughout the tender. You can’t skimp on the flavor. I want to bite into the tender and see the red peppers infused in the chicken as well as the crust. So whenever I make my paleo buffalo chicken tenders, I always ensure you’re getting a burst of flavor in every layer and bite.
A few key things:
1. If you have a baking rack, use it. If you don’t have one I recommend you invest in one. I use this one. The baking rack will help prevent the chicken tenders from getting too soggy on the bottom.
2. Use parchment paper if you don’t have a baking rack and lightly grease it with ghee. I prefer parchment paper over aluminum foil because there’s a less likely chance of the chicken sticking and the coating coming off.
3. Let your chicken sit in the egg and hot sauce mixture for about 10 minutes so it really soaks in the hot sauce flavor.
4. Don’t be afraid to use your spices. Seriously, there are too many recipes that call for like half a teaspoon of a spice for an exorbitant amount of food.
5. Also, don’t be afraid to make this your own recipe. Adjust the spices to your preference. If you don’t want it too spicy, omit the hot sauce with the eggs and etc.
Paleo Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1-1 ½ lbs chicken tenders
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 eggs*
- ½ + ¼ cup hot sauce I use Frank’s red hot
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour/starch
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400F. Place wired baking rack on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Grease baking rack. If not using baking rack, lightly grease parchment paper with ghee.
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Beat eggs with ¼ cup hot sauce in a large shallow dish (big enough to hold most of your chicken). Add chicken strips and let sit for 10 minutes making sure each strip is covered.
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In another shallow dish, mix almond flour with arrowroot flour/starch, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, kosher salt and pepper.
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Remove chicken from egg mixture, shake off excess and then dredge in almond flour. Shake off excess and place on wired baking rack. Bake chicken for 15 minutes.
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In the meantime, heat ½ cup hot sauce, ghee and apple cider vinegar in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then turn off heat.
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Remove chicken from oven after 15 minutes, brush or spoon buffalo sauce on chicken tenders making sure to coat all sides.
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Bake chicken for an additional 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
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Serve warm with celery sticks, carrot sticks and your favorite ranch dressing.
Recipe Notes
*instead of eggs, you can use ranch dressing mixed with the hot sauce to turn this recipe into buffalo ranch chicken tenders.
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Making these tonight for dinner!
In tip #4 I think you meant “exorbitant.”
Oh my gosh! Good catch. Thank you. Also, let me know how they turn out! 🙂
So tasty! But I always have the worst luck with breading and wire racks! I lost a lot of breading doing the flip. I sprayed the wire rack like crazy with olive oil spray, not enough?
I make sure to not overcoat the chicken. I coat it just enough so there’s a thin layer and really shake off the excess almond flour. Baking without the wire works just as well if you don’t have any luck with the rack!